Market-based gaming platform

ABSTRACT

A method is disclosed for provisioning a market-based game on a blockchain platform comprising: allocating, on the blockchain platform, a plurality of non-fungible tokens, each non-fungible token representing a different real-life entity in a pool of real-life entities; for each of the plurality of non-fungible tokens, allocating, on the blockchain platform, one or more corresponding fungible tokens that represent shares in the non-fungible token; allocating, on the blockchain platform, pool-management logic; allocating, on the blockchain platform, entity-management logic; and replenishing the pool-specific award by transferring the pool-specific award to a wallet that is associated with the pool of real-life entities for further distribution by the pool-management logic and the entity-management logic.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority from,application Ser. No. 16/050,925, which was filed on Jul. 31, 2018, theentire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to electronic devices, and moreparticularly to a market based gaming platform.

Description of the Related Art

Blockchain technology is a relatively new technology that has been usedin digital currency implementations. Blockchain utilizes a datastructure that stores a list of transactions and can be thought of as adistributed electronic ledger that records transactions between sourceidentifier(s) and destination identifier(s). The transactions arebundled into blocks and every block (except for the first block) refersback to or is linked to a prior block in the chain. Computer nodesmaintain the blockchain and cryptographically validate each new blockand thus the transactions contained in the corresponding block.Importantly, the validation process provides a consensus mechanism,which allows for the trustless exchange of value over communicationsnetworks, such as the Internet.

It should be understood that nothing in the background section shall beconstrued as an admission of prior art unless otherwise noted.

SUMMARY

According to aspects of the disclosure, a method is disclosed forprovisioning a market-based game on a blockchain platform comprising:allocating, on the blockchain platform, pool-management logic includingone or more processor-executable instructions, which when executed by atleast one node in the blockchain platform cause the node to: allocate,on the blockchain platform, a plurality of non-fungible tokens, eachnon-fungible token representing a different real-life entity in a poolof real-life entities, for each of the plurality of non-fungible tokens,allocate, on the blockchain platform, one or more corresponding fungibletokens that represent shares in the non-fungible token, and calculate afirst entity-specific prize corresponding to a first real-life entity inthe pool of real-life entities based on a rank of the first real-lifeentity in the pool of real-life entity, and a pool-specific prizeassociated with the pool of real-life entities, the first real-lifeentity being represented by a first one of the plurality of non-fungibletokens; allocating, on the blockchain platform, entity-management logicincluding one or more processor-executable instructions, which whenexecuted by at least one node in the blockchain platform cause the nodeto: calculate a first user-specific prize based on the firstentity-specific prize and an amount of shares in the first non-fungibletoken that is stored in a first user wallet, and execute a transactionon the blockchain platform providing the first user-specific prize to anowner of the first user wallet; and replenishing the pool-specific prizeby transferring electronic funds to a pool wallet that is associatedwith the pool of real-life entities for further distribution by thepool-management logic and the entity-management logic.

According to aspects of the disclosure, an apparatus is disclosed forprovisioning a market-based game on a blockchain platform comprising atleast one processor; and a memory operatively coupled to the at leastone processor and being configured to store processor-executableinstructions, which when executed by the at least one processor causethe at least one processor to perform a method comprising the steps of:allocating, on the blockchain platform, pool-management logic includingone or more processor-executable instructions, which when executed by atleast one node in the blockchain platform cause the node to: allocate,on the blockchain platform, a plurality of non-fungible tokens, eachnon-fungible token representing a different real-life entity in a poolof real-life entities, for each of the plurality of non-fungible tokens,allocate, on the blockchain platform, one or more corresponding fungibletokens that represent shares in the non-fungible token, and calculate afirst entity-specific prize corresponding to a first real-life entity inthe pool of real-life entities based on a rank of the first real-lifeentity in the pool of real-life entity, and a pool-specific prizeassociated with the pool of real-life entities, the first real-lifeentity being represented by a first one of the plurality of non-fungibletokens; allocating, on the blockchain platform, entity-management logicincluding one or more processor-executable instructions, which whenexecuted by at least one node in the blockchain platform cause the nodeto: calculate a first user-specific prize based on the firstentity-specific prize and an amount of shares in the first non-fungibletoken that is stored in a first user wallet, and execute a transactionon the blockchain platform providing the first user-specific prize to anowner of the first user wallet; and replenishing the pool-specific prizeby transferring electronic funds to a pool wallet that is associatedwith the pool of real-life entities for further distribution by thepool-management logic and the entity-management logic.

These and other aspects of the present disclosure are described ingreater detail hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of a system, according to aspects ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example of a blockchain platform that isexecuted on the system of FIG. 1 , according to aspects of thedisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example of a pool contract that is allocatedon the blockchain platform of FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example of a process that is performed bythe pool contract of FIG. 3 , according to aspects of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example of an entity contract that isallocated on the blockchain platform of FIG. 2 , according to aspects ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example of a process that is performed bythe entity contract of FIG. 5 , according to aspects of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to aspectsof the disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a diagram of an example of a graphical user interfaceaccording to aspects of the disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example of a computing device, according toaspects of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to aspects of the disclosure, a gaming platform is disclosedwhich is a trustless, decentralized system that enables users to createmarkets in which users can build a portfolio and earn bonuses based onthe performance of the assets in the portfolio and/or the performance ofthe portfolio as a whole. As opposed to prediction markets or gamblingbooks, the markets created by the gaming platform reward users based ona system of algorithmically designed payouts tied to real-world events.The markets can be deployed on a blockchain platform, and they mayoperate in a decentralized manner to allow users to interact with oneanother directly. Payouts across the markets may also be decentralizedand subject to community consensus through a system of reporting andattestation of real-life outcome of events by the users who participatein the markets. It should be understood that the embodiments that aredescribed herein are merely illustrative implementations and are notintended to limit the disclosure those particular embodiments.

One example of a market that can be created by the gaming platform isbased on the interaction of fantasy sports and the correspondingreal-world performance of athletes. More particularly, the market maydefine a pool of athletes. It should be understood that the term“athlete” may more generally refer to a player in any competitiveendeavor. Such competitive endeavors are not limited to a sportingcompetition that includes athletes and may also include, for example,other games (e.g., chess or the like) or political elections. Further,shares may be additionally or alternatively provided for groups, teams,and/or leagues of players. Such groups, teams, and/or leagues of playersmay be based on real-world groupings (e.g., a professional baseballteam) or may be user-defined (e.g., users may create fantasy groupingsof players who may not be members of the same team in the real-world).

Further, each athlete may be assigned a number of shares and each sharemay have a corresponding value. Additionally or alternatively, events(e.g., a sporting team winning a competition) may be assigned a numberof shares and each share may have a value. The gaming platform mayfacilitate the purchase and/or trading of the shares that correspond tothe athletes and/or events. The market demand for the shares maydetermine the value of the shares. Additionally or alternatively, thefulfillment of certain events (e.g., a sporting team winning acompetition) may determine the value of the shares. Moreover, the valueof shares may be linked to time and at the expiration of time, the valueof the shares may expire worthless, for example, upon thenon-fulfillment of an event or may be assigned a maximum or full value,for example, upon the fulfillment of the event. Additionally oralternatively, the value of the shares may be market driven (i.e., thevalue is based on what others are willing to pay).

As described above, the gaming platform allows users to purchase sharesof the players (e.g., athletes and/or events) in the pool. Over time,the users are rewarded based on the real-life performance of the playersthey own shares in. In some aspects, the market allows users to interactwith their favorite athletes and participate in their favorite esportsevents. Moreover, the market allows users to buy and sell these virtualshares of professional athletes and build them into a portfolio of theirideal roster. In this respect, the market replicates the tradingactivity of a traditional stock market while allowing users toexperience the thrills of real-time performance associated with fantasyesports.

As already discussed in some detail, although the examples providedthroughout the disclosure concern markets related to the real-worldperformance of athletes, it will be understood that markets can bedeveloped for any real-world industry in which there are clearly definedtrackable events such as politics, stock traders, pundits and many more.In this regard, it will be understood that the concepts and ideasexpressed throughout the disclosure can be applied to any suitablecontext in which the respective performances of entities can be measuredagainst one another to determine the entities' relative performance.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of a system 100, according to aspectsof the disclosure. The system 100 includes a plurality of client devices104, a plurality of computing devices 106, and a gaming platform 108that are operatively coupled to one another via a communications network102. The communication network 102 may include a local area network(LAN), a wide area network (WAN), the Internet, and/or any othersuitable type of network. Any of the client devices 104 may include anysuitable type of a computing device, such as a smartphone, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a game console, a tablet, and/or any othersuitable type of computing device. Any of the computing devices may be adesktop computer, a smartphone, a laptop computer, a server, adistributed computing system, and/or any other suitable type ofcomputing device. The gaming platform 108 may include a server, adesktop computer, a laptop computer, and/or any other suitable type ofcomputing device. Although in the present example, the gaming platform108 is depicted as a monolithic block, it will be understood that insome implementations the gaming platform 108 may include a plurality ofcomputing devices that are coupled to one another via the communicationsnetwork 102 and/or one or more other networks.

The system 100 may be configured to operate as part of a blockchainplatform 210, an example of which is shown in FIG. 2 . The blockchainplatform 210 may include a publicly managed blockchain platform (such asEthereum or the like) or a privately managed platform (e.g., ablockchain controlled by a private entity). In some implementations,each of the computing devices 106 may be configured to mine and therebyvalidate transactions submitted to the blockchain platform 210.Similarly, any of the client devices 104 may also be configured tovalidate transactions submitted to the blockchain. Any of the clientdevices 104 may be configured to execute transactions on the blockchainplatform 210. As is further discussed below, the transactions mayinclude one or more of: (i) purchasing shares in a player (or anotherentity), (ii) selling shares to a player (or another entity), (iii)redeeming prizes (e.g., winnings) that are attributed based on ownershipof shares in a player (or another entity). Each of the client devices104 may be associated with a different user

The gaming platform 108 may be configured to provision a market-basedgame for the users of the client devices 104. In some implementations,the gaming platform 108 may define a pool of players on the blockchainplatform 210, and it may allocate a plurality of shares for each playerin the pool, which the users of the client devices 104 can subsequentlypurchase. In addition, the gaming platform 108 may deploy logic (e.g.,processor-executable instructions) on the blockchain platform 210, whichwhen executed by the blockchain platform 210 causes the blockchainplatform 210 to track the performance of the players in the pool,identify a player in the pool who is considered the best among theplayers of the pool based on one or more game rules, and prize the fundsin the wallet to users who own shares in the best player. In someimplementations, the game rules may provide that the player who hasscored the most points during a predetermined period is the best.However, the present disclosure is not limited to any specific rule fordetermining which player is the best.

For example, the pool of players may include three quarterbacks thatplay in the National Football League™, herein referred to as player_1,player_2, and player_3. Each of the players may be associated with aplurality of shares, which the users of the client devices 104 canpurchase. For example, the user of the client device 104 a (hereinafter“user_1”) may purchase 60% of the shares of player_1, and 30% of theshares in player_2, and 10% of the shares in player_3; the user of theclient device 104 b (hereinafter “user_2”) may purchase 10% of theshares of player_1, and 20% of the shares in player_2, and 0% of theshares in player_3; the user of the client device 104 c (hereinafter“user_3”) may purchase 30% of the shares of player_1, and 20% of theshares in player_2, and 70% of the shares in player_3; the user of theclient device 104 d (hereinafter “user_4”) may purchase 0% of the sharesof player_1, 30% of the shares in player_2, and 0% of the shares inplayer_3; and the user of the client device 104 e (hereinafter “user_4”)may purchase 0% of the shares of player_1, 0% of the shares in player_2,and 20% of the shares in player_3. Table 1 below summarizes thedistribution of shares in the players in the pool.

TABLE 1 Distribution of Shares Among the Players in the Pool USERPLAYER_1 PLAYER_2 PLAYER_3 USER_1 60% 30% 10% USER_2 10% 20%  0% USER_330% 20% 70% USER_4  0% 30%  0% USER_5  0%  0% 20%

After the users have purchased their respective shares of players in thepool, the gaming platform 108 may, each week, deposit a predeterminedamount of electronic funds in a digital wallet associated with the pooland provide one or more performance metrics (e.g. performanceinformation) of the players in the pool to logic that is deployed by thegaming platform 108 on the blockchain platform 210. Upon receiving theperformance metrics, the logic deployed by the gaming platform 108 maydetermine the number of goals which each of the players has scoredduring the week. Next, the logic may identify the player who has scoredthe most goals during the week. And finally, the logic may transferfunds in the wallets of users that own shares in the player who hasscored the most goals (out of all players in the pool). Each user may beawarded shares in proportion to the user's ownership of shares in theplayer. For example, the user that owns 60% of the best player mayreceive 60% of the funds deposited by the gaming platform 108. And theuser that owns 10 percent of the shares of the best player may receive10% of the funds deposited by the gaming platform 108. The fundsdeposited by the gaming platform 108 may constitute a prize that isdivided among users who own shares in one or more winning players.According to aspects of the disclosure, shares in any given player (oranother entity) in a pool may be bought (or otherwise acquired) beforethe market-based game has commenced or at any other point after thecommencement of the market-based game and before its completion.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a system 200 for providing market-based games,such as the game described above. In the present example, the system 200is implemented in software that is executed on the system 100. However,in some implementations, the system 200 may be implemented in hardware.Furthermore, in some implementations, a portion of the system 200 may beimplemented in hardware while another portion is implemented insoftware. In the latter case, the portion of the system 200 that isimplemented in hardware may be integrated into one or more of thedevices that form the system 100. Accordingly, it will be understoodthat the present disclosure is not limited to any specificimplementation of the system 200.

The system 200 may include the blockchain platform 210, a plurality ofdigital wallets 220, and/or a gaming platform wallet 230. In someimplementations, the blockchain platform 210 may implement a distributedledger that is available in its entirety to the participants in theblockchain platform 210 (e.g., the computing devices, 106, the clientdevices 104 and/or the gaming platform 108). Furthermore, the blockchainplatform 210 may implement a peer-to-peer transaction mechanism thatutilizes public-private key cryptography, has no central intermediary orcentral repository and allows all participants in the blockchainplatform 210 to hold and validate a full copy of the ledger. In someimplementations, the blockchain platform 210 may be maintained by apublic distributed network, such as the Ethereum network or the like.Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, the blockchainplatform 210 may be managed by a privately-managed network. Furthermore,the type of implementation of the blockchain platform 210 (e.g., thehashing process associated with proof of work and/or consensus protocol)may vary, as well, in different implementations of the system 200.Stated succinctly, the present disclosure is not limited to any specificimplementation of the blockchain platform 210 and modifications madethereto would still be within the scope and spirit of the presentdisclosure.

Any of the wallets 220 may be a key store application which may include,store, and/or otherwise control at least one private key along with apublic key that corresponds to the private key. These keys enable thesigning of transactions on the blockchain platform 210 and allow theclient device of the user who owns the wallet to interact on behalf ofthe user with the blockchain platform 210. In some respects, controllingthe private key represents control of an asset that is transacted usingthe public (or private) key, such as shares in a player or prize funds.Throughout the disclosure, references will be made to shares being“transferred” or “stored” in a wallet, even though in practice digitalwallets do not actually store or hold assets. Accordingly, suchreferences shall be interpreted as concerning transactions that arerecorded on the blockchain platform 210 by using any of the keys in thewallet. According to the present disclosure, a transaction is consideredrecorded on the blockchain platform 210 if a representation of thattransaction has been validated and stored on the ledger of theblockchain platform 210.

In the present example, the wallet 220A is provided on the client device104A and it represents the user of the client device 104A (i.e.,user_1); the wallet 220B is provided on the client device 104B and itrepresents the user of the client device 104B (i.e. user_2); the wallet220C is provided on the client device 104C and it represents the user ofthe client device 104C (i.e. user_3); the wallet 220D is provided on theclient device 104D and it represents the user of the client device 104D(i.e. user_4); and the wallet 220E is provided on the client device 104Eand it represents the user of the client device 104E (i.e. user_5).

Although in the present example the wallets 220 are stored on the clientdevices 104, alternative implementations are possible in which thewallets are stored on the blockchain platform 210, and a respectiveimage of each of the wallets 220 is stored on a different one of theclient devices 104. It should also be noted that client devices 104A-Eare referred to more generally as client devices 104 and wallets 220A-Eare referred to more generally as wallets 220. It should be understoodthat there may be a greater or lesser number of client devices 104 andcorresponding wallets 220 than those illustrated in the accompanyingfigures. Furthermore, alternative implementations are possible in whichany of the wallets 220 is a hardware wallet. Stated succinctly, thepresent disclosure is not limited to any specific implementation of thewallets 220.

The gaming platform wallet 230 may be a key store application which mayinclude, store, and/or otherwise control at least one private key alongwith a public key that corresponds to the private key. In the presentexample, the gaming platform wallet 230 is provided on the gamingplatform 108 and it represents an entity which owns the gaming platform108 (e.g., a company which distributes market-based games on theblockchain platform 210). Although in the present example the gamingplatform wallet 230 is stored on the gaming platform 108, alternativeimplementations are possible in which the gaming platform wallet 230 isstored on the blockchain platform 210 and an image of the wallet isstored on the gaming platform 108. Furthermore, alternativeimplementations are possible in which the gaming platform wallet 230 isimplemented in hardware. Stated succinctly, the present disclosure isnot limited to any specific implementation of the gaming platform wallet230 and that various modifications may be made thereto without departingfrom the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

In some implementations, the blockchain platform 210 may execute logic260 for providing a market-based game. The logic 260 may be allocated onthe blockchain platform 210 by the gaming platform 108. In the exampleof FIG. 2 , the logic 260 is represented by contracts 240, 250A, 250B,and 250C. However, alternative implementations are possible in which thelogic 260 is organized in another modular arrangement. For example, insome implementations, the entire logic 260 may be implemented using asingle contract. Stated succinctly the present disclosure is not limitedto any specific organization of the logic 260 for providing amarket-based game as the specifically disclosed logic 260 is merely oneillustrative, non-limiting example.

According to the present disclosure, any contract that is deployed onthe blockchain platform 210 may include processor-executableinstructions that are executed and/or validated by one or more nodes inthe blockchain platform 210. Any contract that is deployed on theblockchain platform 210 may be viewed as an autonomous agent that isexecuted inside the environment of the blockchain platform 210 alwaysexecuting a specific code when triggered by a message or transaction andhaving a direct control over their own key store (e.g., wallet) to keeptrack of persistent variables. In some respect, implementing themarket-based game using blockchain contracts is advantageous as itpermits users to participate in the market-based game without the needfor a centralized broker, resulting in increased scalability and trustin the market-based game conducted by executing the logic 260.

In some implementations, the logic 260 may define a pool of entities(e.g., players) by deploying a plurality of first tokens on theblockchain platform 210. Each token in the plurality may represent adifferent entity in the pool. In some implementations, each token may beallocated by executing (on the blockchain platform 210) a transfertransaction from the gaming platform wallet 230 to a pool-specificwallet that is allocated on blockchain platform 210 and which representsthe pool. In the present example, the entities that are represented bythe token may be players (i.e., athletes). However, the entities thatare represented in the pool may include any suitable type of entitywhose performance can be compared to the performance of the otherentities in the pool based on one or more rules that are defined by thelogic 260. The present disclosure is not limited to any specific type ofentity and/or set of rules for comparing the performance of theentities.

In some implementations, the logic 260 may define a plurality of sharesfor each of the entities in the pool. In some implementations, theshares for any given one of the entities in the pool may be allocated byexecuting (on the blockchain platform 210) a transfer transaction fromthe gaming platform wallet 230 to a wallet associated with a given oneof the entities. After the shares for a given one of the entities in thepool are allocated, the shares may be purchased by the users of theclient devices 104. When shares for any of the entities are purchased(or otherwise obtained) by a user, those shares may be stored in therespective wallet 220 that is associated with that user.

In some implementations, the gaming platform 108 may allocate apool-specific prize for the market-based game that is conducted usingthe logic 260. The prize for the game may be allocated be executing (onthe blockchain platform 210) a transfer transaction from the gamingplatform wallet 230 to the pool-specific wallet, which transferselectronic assets (e.g., electronic funds and/or any other suitablerepresentation of the pool-specific prize) into the pool-specificwallet. According to the present disclosure, the term “pool-specificprize” may refer to a prize which can be awarded to at least one of theusers that participate in the market-based game depending on the outcomeof the market-based game. In this regard, the pool-specific prize may bethe total prize that is up for distribution among the participants inthe market-based game during a particular round of the market-based game(or during the entire run of the market-based game).

In some implementations, the logic 260 may obtain (e.g., from an oracle)performance information for each entity in the pool. In someimplementations, the performance information may include any suitabletype of information that allows the entities to be compared and rankedagainst one another in accordance with rule(s) defined by the logic 260.For example, in instances in which the entities in the pool are footballplayers, the performance information may include the number of goalswhich each of the players has scored in the past week. In someimplementations, the logic 260 may rank the entities in the pool basedon the performance information. In some implementations, the ranking ofthe entities in the pool may produce an ordered list (e.g., a rankinglist) in which the entities are arranged based on their performance,such that any entity in the pool that has performed better than anotherentity in the pool (e.g., during a predetermined period) is identifiedbefore the other entity in the list. For example, in instances in whichthe entities in the pool are football players, the list may firstidentify the players who have scored the most goals.

In some implementations, the logic 260 may determine a respectiveentity-specific (e.g., player-specific) prize for at least some of theentities in the pool. The entity-specific prize for any given entity mayinclude the portion of the pool-specific prize that is to be awarded tousers who own shares in the given entity. The entity-specific prize maybe determined by applying one or more rules of the market-based gamethat are defined in the logic 260. For example, such rules may providethat the entity-specific prize for the entity in the pool that has thebest performance is equal to 100% of the pool-specific prize,effectively requiring the pool-specific prize to be divided only amongusers who own shares in the best-performing entity. For example, ininstances in which the entities in the pool are football players, theentity that has the best performance may be the football player that hasscored the most goals among the football players in the pool (e.g.,during a predetermined period).

As another example, the rules may provide that the entity-specific prizefor the entity in the pool that has performed best is equal to 70% ofthe pool-specific prize, and the pool-specific prize for the entity inthe pool that has performed second best is equal to 30% of thepool-specific prize, effectively requiring the pool-specific prize to bedivided only among users who own shares in the two best entities. Forexample, in instances in which the entities in the pool are footballplayers, the two best entities may be the top-two football players whohave scored the most goals out of all football players in the pool. Insome implementations, the rules for determining player-specific prizesmay be one or more rules which provide how the pool-specific prize shallbe divided among N-best performing entities in the pool, wherein N is aninteger greater than or equal to 1 and less than the total number ofentities in the pool.

In some implementations, after the entity-specific prizes aredetermined, the entity-specific prize for any given entity may betransferred from the pool-specific wallet to an entity-specific walletthat is associated with the given entity. Transferring theentity-specific prize may include deducting an amount of electronicfunds from the pool-specific wallet that is equal to the entity-specificprize and adding this amount (minus any transaction fees) to anentity-specific wallet that is associated with the entity.

In some implementations, the logic 260 for providing a market-based gamemay determine user-specific prizes for users who participate in themarket-based game. The user-specific prize for any of the users may bethe amount of electronic funds which a user is set to receive based onthe user's ownership of shares in an entity in the pool that has beenaccorded an entity-specific prize by the logic 260. For example, if auser owns 20% of shares in one of the entities of the pool, that usermay receive 20% of the entity-specific prize for that entity.

In some implementations, the logic 260 may provide the user-specificprize that is owed to a user by transferring the user-specific prizefrom an entity-specific wallet that is associated with an entity ofwhich the user owns shares to a wallet that is associated with the user.Transferring the user-specific prize may include deducting an amount ofelectronic funds from the entity-specific wallet that is equal to theentity-specific prize and adding this amount (minus any transactionfees) to the user's wallet 220. Additionally or alternatively, in someimplementations, the logic 260 may provide the user-specific prize thatis owed to a user by executing a transaction on the blockchain platform210 which makes the user-specific prize available for redemption to theuser. After the user-specific prize is made available for redemption bythe user, the user may initiate a transaction on the blockchain platform210 which transfers the user-specific prize from an entity-specificwallet that is associated with an entity of which the user owns sharesto a wallet that is associated with the user. Stated succinctly, thepresent disclosure is not limited to any specific way of providinguse-specific prizes to users who participate in a market-based gamedeployed by the gaming platform 110.

Although in the example of FIG. 2 the logic 260 receives performanceinformation corresponding to the entities in the pool and ranks theentities in the pool by itself, alternative implementations are possiblein which the logic 260 is configured to receive a ranking list for theentities in the pool that is provided by an oracle or another trustedentity. In such instances, the logic 260 may not rank the entities inthe pool by itself and may instead rely on the rankings that areprovided in the list. For example, in instances in which the entities inthe pool are football players, the performance information may indicatethe ranking position of each player in the pool. For example, theranking list may indicate which player is ranked first, which player isranked second, and so forth. In some implementations, the ranking listmay be provided to the logic 260 by the gaming platform 108.

FIGS. 3-6 provide an example, of one particular implementation of thelogic 260, according to aspects of the disclosure. Shown in FIG. 3 is anexample of the pool contract 240, in accordance with one particularimplementation. As illustrated, the pool contract 240 may include apool-management logic 310, performance information 320, a pool-specificwallet 330, and a plurality of tokens 340 which together define a poolof entities 350. The pool-management logic 310 may include one or moreprocessor-executable instructions which when executed by one or morenodes in the blockchain platform 210 cause the blockchain platform 210to perform the process 400, which is discussed further below withrespect to FIG. 4 . The performance information 320 may include one ormore data structures which include information regarding the performanceof the entities in the pool 350. The pool-specific wallet 330 may be awallet which is used to store a pool-specific prize for the pool 350and/or store the tokens 340 which define the pool 350. In the presentexample, the entities represented by the tokens 340 are real-lifefootball players and the performance information 320 identifies thenumber of goals each of the football players has scored (in real life)during a past period of time (e.g., in the past week).

Each of the tokens 340 may represent a different one of the entities inthe pool 350. Each of the tokens 340 may be represented as a transactionthat is recorded on the ledger of the blockchain platform 210 and storedin the pool-specific wallet 330. In some implementations, each token 340(or transaction corresponding to the token 340) may include anidentifier of the entity that is represented by that token 340 (e.g.,the name of a real-life football player that is represented by thetoken). Moreover, in some implementations, each token 340 (ortransaction corresponding to the token 340) may include an identifier ofthe pool 350. Alternatively, in some implementations, the pool to whichany given token 340 belongs may be identified implicitly by thepool-specific wallet in which the token 340 is stored. In someimplementations, each of the tokens 340 may be a non-fungible tokenwhich is neither divisible nor interchangeable.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example of a process 400 which is performedby the pool contract 240 (and/or the pool-management logic 310),according to aspects of the disclosure.

At step 402, the pool contract 240 may allocate the pool of entities350. Allocating the pool of entities 350 may include allocating thetokens 340. In some implementations, allocating any of the tokens 340may include recording a transaction in the ledger of the blockchainplatform 210 which causes the tokens 340 to become instantiated.

At step 404, the pool contract 240 may allocate respective share(s) foreach of the entities in the pool. According to the present disclosure, arespective share for a given entity in the pool 350 is represented as arespective share in the token 340 which represents that entity. Therespective share(s) in any token 340 may be represented by tokens 530(shown in FIG. 5 ) which are recorded as transactions in the blockchainplatform 210. In some implementations, allocating any of the tokens 530may include recording a transaction in the ledger of the blockchainplatform 210 from the pool-specific wallet 330 to any of the wallets 220(and/or the entity specific wallet 520), which causes any of the tokens530 to become instantiated.

At step 406, the pool contract 240 may receive performance informationfor the entities in the pool 350. The performance information mayinclude any suitable type of information that allows the performance ofthe entities to be compared based on one or more rules defined by thepool-management logic 310. In instances in which all entities arefootball players, the performance information may include the number ofgoals which each of the players has scored during a past period and/orany other suitable metric of the players' performance. In instances inwhich the entities are athletes that compete in different sports, theperformance information may include the number of wins which eachathlete has scored during a past period. The performance information maybe received at the pool contract 240 from an oracle that is associatedwith the pool contract 240. The oracle can be any suitable agent thatfinds and verifies real-world information about the performance of theentities that are represented by the tokens 340 in the pool 350. Theoracle may be managed by the gaming platform 108 and/or a third party.

At step 408, the pool contract 240 receives an indication of apool-specific prize that is up for distribution among users who ownshares in entities from the pool 350. In some implementations, theindication of the pool-specific prize may be received when a transactionis recorded on the blockchain platform 210 which transfers electronicfunds or another type of electronic assets (in the amount of thepool-specific prize) from the gaming platform wallet 230 of the gamingplatform 108 to the pool-specific wallet 330 of the pool contract 240.

At step 410, the pool contract 240 determines an entity-specific prizefor one or more of the entities in the pool 350. As discussed above, insome implementations, determining the entity-specific prize may includeranking the entities in the pool 350 based on the performanceinformation 320 and calculating a respective entity-specific prize foran N-number of entities that rank first, wherein N is greater than orequal to one and less than the total number of entities in the pool.

At step 412, the entity-specific prizes determined at step 406 arerecorded in the ledger of the blockchain platform 210. In someimplementations, recording the entity-specific prize for a given entitymay include transferring electronic funds or another type of electronicassets (in the amount of the given entity-specific prize) from thepool-specific wallet 330 of the pool contract 240 to a wallet that isassociated with the given entity, such as the wallet 520 which is shownin FIG. 5 .

Although in the example of FIGS. 3-4 the pool contract 240 receivesperformance information corresponding to the entities in the pool andranks the entities in the pool by itself, alternative implementationsare possible in which the pool contract 240 is configured to receive aranking list for the entities in the pool that is provided by an oracleor another trusted entity. In such instances, the pool contract 240 maynot rank the entities in the pool by itself and may instead rely on therankings that are provided in the list. Moreover, in such instances,step 402 may be omitted from the process 400. The process 400 isprovided as an example only, at least some of the steps in the process400 may be performed concurrently, performed in a different order, oraltogether omitted.

FIG. 5 shows an example of an entity contract 250, in accordance withone particular implementation. According to the present disclosure, theentity contract 250 may be representative of any one of the contracts250A, 250B, and 250C, which are shown in FIG. 2 . As illustrated, theentity contract 250 may include entity-management logic 510, a wallet520, and a plurality of tokens 530 which represents the shares in anentity that correspond to the contract. The entity-management logic 510may include one or more processor-executable instructions which whenexecuted by one or more nodes in the blockchain platform 210 cause theblockchain platform 210 to perform the process 600, which is discussedfurther below with respect to FIG. 6 . The wallet 520 may be anysuitable digital wallet that is configured to store entity-specificprize(s) that correspond to the entity which the tokens 530 representshares.

Each of the tokens 530 may represent a respective share in one of theentities in the pool 350. More specifically, on the blockchain platform210, each of the tokens 530 may represent a different share in one ofthe tokens 340. Each of the tokens 530 may be represented as atransaction that is recorded on the ledger of the blockchain platform210 and stored in the wallet of the user who owns the token (and/orshare represented by the token). In some implementations, each token 530(or transaction corresponding to the token 530) may include anidentifier of the token 340 which the token 530 represents a share of.In some implementations, each of the tokens 530 may be a fungible tokenthat is interchangeable and/or divisible.

In the present example, the token 340 a represents a real-life entity,herein referred to as “entity_1”. Token 530 a represents a 60% share ofthe token 340 a, token 530 b represents a 20% share of the token 340 a,and token 530 c represents a 10% share of the token 340 a. The token 530a belongs to the user of client device 104 a (i.e., user_1), and as suchit is stored in the wallet 220 a. The token 530 b belongs to the user ofclient device 104 b (i.e., user_2), and as such it is stored in thewallet 220 b. And the token 530 b belongs to the user of client device104 c (i.e., user_3), and as such it is stored in the wallet 220 c. Ascan be readily appreciated, ownership of a share in the token 340 arepresents, by proxy, ownership in entity_1, within the context of thepool 350. Although not shown, in some implementations, the wallet 520may also store information identifying which user owns what shares ofthe token 340 a, in order to facilitate the execution of theentity-management logic 510.

Although in the example of FIG. 5 , the respective share in an entitythat belongs to a given user is represented by a single token, it willbe understood that in practice the respective share in an entity thatbelongs to a given user may be represented by multiple tokens. In thisregard, token 530 a may include one or more tokens; token 530 b mayinclude one or more tokens; token 530 c may include one or more tokens;and token 530 d may include one or more token. The present disclosure isnot limited to any specific way of representing entity shares on ablockchain platform.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example of a process 600 that is performedby the entity contract 250 (and/or the entity-management logic 510),according to aspects of the disclosure.

At step 602, the entity contract 250 detects that an entity-specificprize has been transferred to the wallet 520.

At step 604, the entity contract 250 determines the user-specific prizewhich each user that owns shares in the token 340 a is set to receive inaccordance with one or more distribution rules that are implemented inthe entity-management logic 510. For example, the entity contract 250may determine that the user-specific prize for the user that owns 60% ofthe shares in the token 340 a is equal to 60% of the entity-specificprize for the token 340 a (or entity represented by the token 340 a).Furthermore, the entity contract 250 may determine that theuser-specific prize for the user that owns 30% of the shares in thetoken 340 a is equal to 30% of the entity-specific prize for the token340 a (or entity represented by the token 340 a). And still furthermore,the entity contract 250 may determine that the user-specific prize forthe user that owns 10% of the shares in the token 340 a is equal to 10%of the entity-specific prize for the token 340 a (or entity representedby the token 340 a). Although in the present example the portion of theentity-specific prize which each user is set to receive is equal to thepercentage of shares which the user owns in the token 340 a, it will beunderstood that the present disclosure is not limited to any specificformula for dividing entity-specific prizes into user-specific prizes.

At step 606, the entity contract 250 records each user-specific prize onthe blockchain platform 210. In some implementations, recording theuser-specific prize for any of the users that own shares in the token340 a may include transferring electronic funds or another type ofelectronic assets (in the amount of the user's user-specific prize) fromthe wallet 520 to the user's wallet 220. After the electronic funds (orother electronic assets) are transferred to the user's wallet, thosefunds (or other assets) can be redeemed by the user for cash (e.g., fromthe gaming platform 108) or exchanged for a digital currency, such asbitcoin. The process 600 is provided as an example only, at least someof the steps in the process 600 may be performed concurrently, performedin a different order, or altogether omitted.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example of a process 700 for provisioning amarket-based game that is performed by the gaming platform 108,according to aspects of the disclosure.

At step 702, the gaming platform 108 may allocate a pool-managementlogic instance on the blockchain platform 210. The pool-management logicmay include one or more processor-executable instructions which whenexecuted by one or more nodes in the blockchain platform 210 cause theone or more nodes to allocate a pool of entities on the blockchainplatform 210. Allocating the pool of entities may include allocating aplurality of first tokens (e.g., non-fungible tokens), wherein each ofthe first tokens represents a different entity in the pool. Allocatingany of the first tokens may include recording a transaction on theledger of the blockchain platform 210 which causes the first tokens tobecome instantiated. In some implementations, the tokens allocated bythe pool-management logic may be the same or similar to the tokens 340.

Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, thepool-management logic may include one or more processor-executableinstructions which when executed by one or more nodes in the blockchainplatform 210 cause the one or more nodes to: receive performanceinformation for each of the entities in the pool, rank the entities inthe pool based on the performance information, calculate a respectiveentity-specific prize for any of the entities in the pool, and recordthe entity-specific prize on the blockchain platform 210. In someimplementations, the pool-management logic may be the same or similar tothe pool-management logic 310. The list of steps performed by thepool-management logic is provided as an example only. In this regard, itwill be understood that alternative implementations are possible inwhich any of the steps in the list can be omitted. Furthermore, it willbe understood that at least some of the steps in the list can beperformed concurrently with one another or in a different order.

At step 704, the gaming platform 108 may allocate a respectiveentity-management logic instance for each of the entities in the poolthat is allocated at step 702. The entity-management logic for any givenentity may include one or more processor-executable instructions whichwhen executed by one or more nodes in the blockchain platform 210 causethe one or more nodes to: calculate a user-specific prize for any userthat owns shares in a token (e.g., token 340) representing the givenentity, and record the user-specific prize on the blockchain platform210. In some implementations, any entity-management logic instance maybe the same or similar to the entity-management logic 510. The list ofsteps performed by each entity-management logic instance is provided asan example only. In this regard, it will be understood that alternativeimplementations are possible in which any of the steps in the list canbe omitted. Furthermore, it will be understood that at least some of thesteps in the list can be performed concurrently with one another or in adifferent order.

Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, anyentity-management logic instance may include trading logic for buyingand selling shares in the logic instance's given entity. The tradinglogic may include one or more processor-executable instructions whichwhen executed by one or more nodes in the blockchain platform 210 causethe one or more nodes to record one or more transactions in the ledgerof the blockchain platform 210 which transfer ownership of share(s) inthe given entity. In some implementations, the trading logic mayimplement a transaction fee which is charged on a per transaction basisfor each transaction transferring one or more shares in entity from oneuser for another. In some implementations, the transaction fee may be apercentage of the entire amount of shares that is being transferred, ina transaction, from one user to another. For example, the trading logicmay implement transferring 5% of the shares, which are subject of anytransaction between two users, to the wallet 230, which is associatedwith the gaming platform 108, as a fee for recording transaction.According to aspects of the disclosure, shares in an entity do notnecessarily need to be purchased in order for the shares to be acquiredby a user. For example, the shares may be bartered for other sharesand/or traded in any other suitable manner.

At step 706, the gaming platform 108 may present a user interface forparticipating in the market-based game that is provisioned by the gamingplatform 108. In some implementations, presenting the user interface mayinclude transmitting one or more processor-executable instructions fromthe gaming platform 108 to any of the client devices 104, which whenreceived by the client device 104 cause the client device to display agraphical user interface on a display screen of the client device 104.The graphical user interface may include one or more screens whichprovide one or more of the following:

-   -   (i) an identification of at least one pool that is currently        active on the blockchain platform 210;    -   (ii) an indication of the entities that are part of the pool;    -   (iii) a marketplace where users can trade shares in the entities        in the pool;    -   (iv) an indication of the different shares that form the        portfolio of any given user that participates in the        market-based game that is provisioned by the gaming platform        108.    -   (v) performance information corresponding to any of the entities        in the pool which can be used by participants in the        market-based game to decide whether to buy shares in that entity        (or more specifically, in a token representing that entity).

At step 708 the gaming platform 108 transmits, to the pool-managementlogic, information for that can be used in determining entity-specificprize(s) for the entities in the pool. In some implementations, theprovided information may be the same or similar to the performanceinformation 320. Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations,the provided information may include a ranking list which identifies arespective rank for each (or at least some) of the entities in the pool.In some implementations, the ranking list may rank the entities in thepool relative to one another. Additionally or alternatively, in someimplementations, the ranking list may indicate a different rank for eachof the entities in the pool.

At step 710, the gaming platform 108 may transfer a pool-specific prizeto a pool-specific wallet, such as the pool-specific wallet 330, whichis associated with the pool allocated with 702. After the pool-specificprize is transferred, the pool-specific prize may be divided among atleast some of the users that own shares in entities that are part of thepool. In some implementations, the pool-specific prize may be divided asdiscussed with respect to the processes 400 and 600, which are discussedabove with respect to FIGS. 4 and 6 .

At step 712, the gaming platform 108 may determine whether to terminatethe process. If a determination is made to terminate the process 700,the process ends. If a determination is made to continue executing theprocess 700, the process 700 returns to step 708. In someimplementations, steps 708 and 710 may be performed periodically (e.g.,every week, every month, etc.). As a result, a new pool-specific prizemay be distributed among the users who participate in the market-basedgame during each period.

In some implementations, each (weekly) pool-specific prize may be aportion of a larger pool-specific jackpot. In some implementations, thepool-specific jackpot may be a portion (e.g., 80%) of the proceeds froman initial sale of shares in the entities in the pool. Although in thepresent example the pool-specific jackpot and the pool specific prizesare based on the proceeds of share sales, alternative implementationsare possible in which the pool-specific jackpot and/or any of thepool-specific prizes is independent of the any proceeds form the sale ofshares in the entities in the pool. In such instances, the amount of thepool-specific jackpot and/or any of the pool specific prizes may be setby the gaming platform 108 independently of any proceeds from the saleof shares in the entities in the pool.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of an example of a user interface screen 800, whichmay be provided by the gaming platform 108 to any user that participatesin a market-based game that is provisioned by the gaming platform 108.As illustrated, the user interface screen 800 may include a firstportion 810, which identifies the total worth of the user's portfolio.Furthermore, the user interface screen 800 may include a second portion820 that identifies one or more entities that are part of a pool. Foreach of the entities, the second portion 820 may provide various typesof information that can be utilized by the user to determine whether theuser wants to buy and/or sell shares in that entity. In addition, foreach of the entities, the second portion 820 may include a respectivebuy button 822. When the buy button 822 corresponding to a given entityis activated (e.g., pressed), the user interface screen 800 may behidden, and a marketplace screen (not shown) may be displayed in itsplace. The marketplace screen may identify one or more other users whoare willing to sell shares in the given entity, and with whom the usercan interact directly, over the blockchain platform 210. Furthermore,for each of the entities, the second portion 820 may include arespective sell button 824. When the sell button 824 corresponding to agiven entity is activated (e.g., pressed), the user interface screen 800may be hidden, and a marketplace screen (not shown) may be displayed inits place. The marketplace screen may identify one or more other userswho are willing to buy shares in the given entity, and with whom theuser can interact directly, over the blockchain platform 210.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example of a computing device 900, accordingto aspects of the disclosure. As illustrated, the computing device 900may include a processor 901, a communications interface 903, a memory905, a touch panel 907, and a display 909. According to aspects of thedisclosure, the processor 901 may include any suitable type ofprocessing circuitry, such as a general-purpose processor (e.g., anARM-based processor), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC),or a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The communications interface903 may include any suitable type of communications interface, such as aWi-Fi interface, an Ethernet interface, a Long-Term Evolution (LTE)interface, a Bluetooth Interface, an Infrared interface, etc. The memory905 may include any suitable type of volatile and non-volatile memory,such as random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flashmemory, cloud storage, or network accessible storage (NAS), etc. Thetouch panel 907 may include any suitable type of touch panel, such as acapacitive or resistive touch panel. The display 909 may include anysuitable type of display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), alight-emitting diode (LED) display, or an active-matrix organiclight-emitting diode (AMOLED) display. In some implementations, thetouch panel 907 may be layered onto the display 909 to form atouchscreen. Although not shown, the computing device 900 may includeadditional (or alternative) input devices, such as a microphone, akeyboard, a mouse, etc.

In some implementations, the computing device 900 may be the same orsimilar to any of the client devices 104. Additionally or alternatively,in some implementations, the computing device 900 may be the same orsimilar to any of the computing devices 106. Additionally oralternatively, in some implementations, the computing device 900 may bethe same or similar to any of the computing devices that might form thegaming platform 108

FIGS. 1-9 are provided to illustrate a particular implementation of thepresent disclosure and not intended to limit the disclosure. It will beunderstood that any of the steps in the processes 400, 600, and 700 maybe performed concurrently with other steps in those processes andaltogether omitted. It will be further understood that the provision ofthe examples described herein, as well as clauses prefaced with “suchas,” “e.g.”, “including”, “in some aspects,” “in some implementations,”and the like should not be interpreted as limiting the disclosed subjectmatter to the specific examples.

While the present disclosure may have been shown and described withreference to various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. Inother words, the various exemplary embodiments disclosed in the presentspecification and drawings are merely specific embodiments to facilitatean understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure andare not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure is defined not by thedetailed description of the disclosure but by the appended claims, andall differences within the scope should be construed as being includedin the present disclosure.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for provisioning a market-basedgame on a blockchain platform, said method comprising: allocatingpool-management logic on the blockchain platform, the pool-managementlogic including one or more processor-executable instructions that whenexecute cause the blockchain platform to: allocate a plurality ofnon-fungible tokens, wherein each of the non-fungible tokens representsa different real-life entity in a pool of real-life entities; allocate,for each of the plurality of non-fungible tokens, one or morecorresponding fungible tokens that represent shares in each of thenon-fungible tokens; and calculating an entity-specific prizecorresponding to a real-life entity in the pool of real-life entitiesbased on a rank of the real-life entity in the pool of real-lifeentities and a pool- specific prize associated with the pool ofreal-life entities, the real-life entity being represented by one of theplurality of non-fungible tokens.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: calculating a user-specific prize based on theentity-specific prize and a number of shares in the one of thenon-fungible tokens that is stored in a user wallet, and execute atransaction on the blockchain platform providing the user-specific prizeto an owner of the user wallet.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: replenishing the pool-specific prize by transferringelectronic funds to a pool wallet that is associated with the pool ofreal-life entities for further distribution by the pool-management logicand the entity-management logic.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein:providing the user-specific prize to the owner of the user walletincludes transferring the user-specific prize to the user wallet.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting to thepool-management logic an indication of the rank of the real-life entity.6. The method of claim 1, wherein the pool-management logic includes oneor more processor-executable instructions, which when executed by theblockchain platform, cause the blockchain platform to receive anindication of the rank of the real-life entity.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein: allocating the pool-management logic includes allocating acontract that includes the pool-management logic; and allocating theentity-management logic includes allocating a second contract thatincludes the entity-management logic.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein:allocating the pool-management logic and allocating theentity-management logic includes allocating a contract that includesboth the pool-management logic and the entity-management logic.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein: allocating the entity-management logicincludes allocating a plurality of instances of the entity-managementlogic, each instance of the entity-management logic being associatedwith a different one of the pool of real-life entities.
 10. The methodof claim 1, wherein: the pool-specific prize is replenishedperiodically.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein: each entity in thepool of real-life entities is a professional athlete and the rank of thereal-life entity is based on an athletic performance of the real-lifeentity.
 12. An apparatus for provisioning a market-based game on ablockchain platform comprising at least one processor and a memoryoperatively coupled to the at least one processor and being configuredto store processor-executable instructions, which when executed by theat least one processor cause the at least one processor to perform amethod comprising the steps of: allocating, on the blockchain platform,pool-management logic including one or more processor-executableinstructions, which when executed cause the apparatus to: allocate, onthe blockchain platform, a plurality of non-fungible tokens, eachnon-fungible token representing a different real-life entity in a poolof real-life entities; for each of the plurality of non-fungible tokens,allocate, on the blockchain platform, one or more corresponding fungibletokens that represent shares in the non-fungible token; and calculate afirst entity-specific prize corresponding to a first real-life entity inthe pool of real-life entities based on a rank of the first real-lifeentity in the pool of real-life entities, and a pool-specific prizeassociated with the pool of real-life entities, the first real-lifeentity being represented by a first one of the plurality of non-fungibletokens.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising: allocating,on the blockchain platform, entity-management logic including one ormore processor-executable instructions that cause the blockchainplatform to calculate a user-specific prize based on the entity specificprize and a number of shares in one of the plurality of non-fungibletokens that is stored in a user wallet.
 14. The apparatus of claim 12,further comprising: allocating, on the blockchain platform,entity-management logic including one or more processor-executableinstructions that cause the blockchain platform to execute a transactionon the blockchain platform providing the user-specific prize to an ownerof the user wallet.
 15. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising:allocating, on the blockchain platform, entity-management logicincluding one or more processor-executable instructions that cause theblockchain platform to replenish the pool-specific prize by transferringelectronic funds to a pool wallet that is associated with the pool ofreal-life entities for further distribution by the pool-management logicand the entity-management logic.
 16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein:providing the first user-specific prize to the owner of the user walletincludes transferring the user-specific prize to the user wallet. 17.The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising: transmitting to thepool-management logic an indication of the rank of the real-life entity.18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein: each entity in the pool ofreal-life entities is a professional athlete and the rank of thereal-life entity is based on an athletic performance of the real-lifeentity.
 19. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein: allocating theentity-management logic includes allocating a plurality of instances ofthe entity-management logic, wherein each instance of theentity-management logic is associated with a different one of the poolof real-life entities.
 20. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein: thepool-specific prize is replenished periodically.